Police re-arrest Stamford man in 2011 stabbing death

Updated 6:51 pm, Saturday, January 26, 2013

STAMFORD -- Police arrested a Stamford man for the second time Saturday in connection with the 2011 stabbing death of a teenage Bronx, N.Y., reggae dancer.

Rayon Hines, 34, turned himself over to Stamford police and was charged with first-degree manslaughter, Capt. Richard Conklin said Saturday. Police first arrested Hines three days after the stabbing, but prosecutors were forced to drop the murder charges against him due to a lack of witnesses.

"A lot of the witnesses were out of New York," Conklin said. "Some of the witnesses were somewhat transient and their last-known numbers and addresses weren't working and the prosecutor at that point felt he needed to nolle the case."

A "nolle" disposition releases a defendant from custody, but allows prosecutors to reopen a case and prosecute within 13 months of the case being dropped. Stamford police spent a year tracking down witnesses to the July 17 stabbing, which occurred at Michael F. Lione Park on the West Side of Stamford after a disagreement over a soccer game.

"We put out a full-court press and located the witnesses and resurrected the case," Conklin said. "When someone dies, we owe it to the community and the families not to give up on it, and we worked very closely with the court and the investigators and the prosecutors to get a warrant signed again."

Defense attorney John Gulash had hinted at a self-defense claim during Hines' court appearance after his 2011 arrest. Witness statements included in the original court file described a chaotic fight that ended with Hines stabbing Romario "Mario" Marchant in the chest.

A friend drove Marchant, 16, to nearby Stamford Hospital, where he ran into the emergency room before collapsing into a wheelchair and passing out. Marchant was known as the youngest member of the Look and Study Dancers, according to his agent.

Hines was released from custody after posting a $75,000 bond Saturday, police said. Hines could not be reached for comment.